Pipe wrench



July 30; 1929. v M. F. MORAN 1,722,384

I PIPE WRENCH Filed Nov. is .1926

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Patented July 3%, i929.

idlfadid MYLES F. MORAN, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

PIPE W'RENCH.

Application filed. November 15 1926. Serial No. 148,380.

The present invention relates to improvements in pipe wrenches and applies particularly to that class of wrenches which depend upon a large, relatively smooth, contacting area to grip the pipe and which have a flexible girth or band section to surround the pipe.

The main object of the invention is to provide a wrench of the character above pointed out which can be positively clamped about the pipe, thus enabling the operator to manipulate the work in any manner he desires, either gripping the pipe whi'le certain operations are performed upon it, or to turn the pipe into a joint or remove it therefrom without any slippage between the pipe and the wrench.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel means of disengaging the wrench from the work.

Another object of the invention is to provide means to change from that condition where the wrench is clamped positively about the pipe to that condition where the pipe is clamped by the pressure developed in the operation of turning the pipe as will b hereinafter more fully described.

Another object of the invention is to provide the wrench with a supplemental handle thereby making it possible for the operator to apply more force in turning the pipe.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved interlocking device at the fulcrum point of the girth section of the wrench which will be hereinafter described.

Other objects and features 'of the invention will more fully appear from the fllowing description and the accompanying drawing and will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side View of the wrench;

Fig. 2 is a View looking toward the left in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is asectional view on line 33 Fig. 1;

Fig. 4: is a view showing a modification of the device; and,

Fig. 5 is a View illustrating a further adaptation of the device.

The preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated herein comprises a handle member having a head 1 provided with a cylindrical, longitudinally threaded, bore which receives complementary screw threads of a cylindrical handle 2 which extends through said bore, so that the relative rota- I tion of said head and handle produces relative longitudinal movement therebetween. A plurality of cars 3 are formed upon the head 1 having central apertures therein in which is received a pintle 4. The/pintle 4 serves asa pivot for the girth member 5 of the wrench, the girth member having ears 6 upon one of its ends which have central apertures therein through which the pintle 1 extends.

The girth member 5 is composed of three sections 7, 8 and 9. The sections 7 and 8 are pivoted together at 10 while thesections 8 and 9 are pivoted at 11. A lip 12 is formed upon the free end of the section 9 of the girth which has interlocking engagement with a fulcrum 13 which is formed integral with the head '1. It will be noted that the fulcrum is made slightly hook-shaped to receive a similarly hook-shaped lip 12. By

means of this construction the lip is prevented from becomingidisengaged from the fulcrum in the operation of the device. The handle has at its extreme end a spheroidal concave recess 14 adapted to receive a spheroidal projection 15 upon the member 7 of the girth 5.

The inner faces of the sections 7, 8 and 9 of the girth 5 fit the pipe snugly providing a large area of contact between the pipe and the girth. section. To .clamp the wrench upon the pipe the lip 12 is placed in engagement with the fulcrum 13. The handle 2 is screwed inwardly thus putting pressure upon the ball and socket contact formed by the recess 14 and projection 15. This pres sure acts to swing the girth 5 about its pivot 4 thus throwing the pressure upon the fulcrum 18 which results in cramping the girth tightly about the pipe.

In order to use the device upon various sizes of pipe it is necessary to have girth members for substantially different sizes of pipe. It is, therefore, desirable that the girth member be quickly removable. is accomplished by removin'g the pintle 4, which is held in place by a spring ring 16. This spring ring is located in a'groove 17 in the shank of the pintle a distance from This the head 18 thereof substantially equal to be contracted and upon passing through the car will re-expand, thus locking the pintle in place. The inner end of the aperture in the ear 8 is similarly bevelled so that the spring ring 16 will be contracted su'lliciently to allow the pintle to be withdrawn.

In the use of the device it is very often desirable to apply an anti-slipping substance, such as resin, to the gripping surfaces. In the device herein illustrated this is provided for by forming pockets or res ervoirs inthe girth member which contain the anti-slipping substance. The substance may be in any convenient form. I have herein shown wads of felt, or similar material 19, which are impregnated with powdered resin or any other suitable substance. The wads of felt are set in apertures 20 in the girth member. These apertures extend from the outer suface to the inner or fric tion surface of the girth. By this construction the resin-impregnated felt as it contacts with the pipe feeds the anti-slipping substance to the gripping surfaces, thus increasing the friction between the pipe and the wrench, which prevents slippage and injury to polished pipes.

To disengage the wrench from the work the handle 2 is rotated to release the pressure on the girth and then backed otl sufficiently to enable the lip 12 to be disengaged from the fulcrum 13. There is an in termediate stage where the wrench may be operated in a different manner from that above described. When the pressure on the girth is released and just before the lip can be disengaged from the fulcrum the wrench can be made to engage the pipe as it is rotated in one direction and released when rotated in the other direction. As the wrench is rotated in a clockwise direction, Fig. l, the force required to turn the pipe is sutlicient to cramp the girth about the pipe and the greater the force applied the greater will be the cramping action, thus overcoming any tendency to slip, while upon releasing the pressure on the handle the girth becomes free to turn and a fresh bite can be made to again rotate the pipe.

Circumstances very often arise in the use of such a device as this where it is necessary to use a large amount of force to accomplish. the work to be done. To provide for this a supplemental handle is added to the wrench which gives the operator a double handhold enabling him to apply more force to effect the turning oft-he pipe,

A further advantage of this particular type of, c'onstruction is that shorter handles may be used where space is limited and by means of the two possible grips a sufficient force can be brought to bear upon the work.

In Fig. 4 is illustrated a modification of the device embodying the foregoing fea- .tures- Upon the central section 8 of the girth is formed a boss 21 having a-cylinand its longitudinal axis is in line with and radially opposite to that of the handle 2. Tnto this boss is screwed the threaded end of a supplemental handle 22. There is thus provided means to double the power that can be brought to bear upon the work.

It will, of course, become apparent to the workman having such a tool in his possession that it may be used for a wide variety of purposes due to its novel design.

In Fig. 5 is illustrated a very valuable adaptation of the wrench. A workman very often finds himself in need of a pipe vise when there is none available, or there is no place to set one up if he has one. A very simple and effective substitute can be made by employing the wrench as shown in the drawing. An ordinary stock nipple 23 of the right size is chosen and is screwed into a flange 9A. A lag screw is then introduced into the bore of. the nipple 23, the head of which is cut oil so that the shank is flush with the top of the nipple. The flange, nipple and lag screw are then pinned together by the pin 26. The unit thus formed is then screwed into a beam, stud, rafter or any convenient support 27. The boss 21 of the wrench may then be screwed on to the projecting end of the nipple 23 and secured rigidly thereto by a lock nut 28. The wrench may then be used as a pipe vise being thus rigidly secured to the support 27. It will be obvious that the boss 21 of the wrench may be secured to any screw-threaded projecting pipe end or nipple of the proper diameter which is rigidly anchored in any manner andthe wrench thereby used as a vise.

It will be understood that the embodiment of the invention disclosed herein is of an illustrative character and is not restrictive, and that various chan es in form, construction and arrangement of parts may be made within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a wrench of the above described charactor, a head having a fulcrum thereon, a flexible girth member having a section pivoted at one end upon the head, an intermediate section and an end section provided with a lip having releasable interlocking engagement with said fulcrum, clamping means upon the head engaging said pivotedgirth section, intermediate'of its ends and operalii-r to cause the girth mei'nber to grip and hold the work positively, whereby the wrench may be rotated in either direction without slippage upon the work. Y

2. A pipe wrench comprising a head having a cylindrical bore the walls of which are threaded, a girth member pivoted at one drical bore the walls of which are threaded end upon the head, afulcrum 011 said head,

a lip on the free end of the girth member which has interlocking engagement with said fulcrum, a handle having external screw threads upon one end which are received by the threads within the cylindrical bore of said head, a spheroidal recess in the end of said handle which engages a complementary spheroidal projection uponthe girth section, whereby pressure may be applied against the girth member by screwing the handle inwardly thus cramping the lipped end of the girth member upon the fulcrum, thereby clamping the work within the girth member. Y

3. A pipe wrench comprising a head having ears, a co-operating girth member to engage the pipe having ears complementary to those of said head, a pintle connecting the ears on said head and girth member having an annular groove located at a distance from the head of the pintle approximately equal to the thickness of an ear upon the head, a spring ring loosely mounted in said groove and means operable to contract said ring within said groove when the pintle is inserted through said ears, whereby said ring will expand against the inner wall of an .outer ear on said head when passed through said ear thus preventing withdrawal of said pintle.

4. A pipe wrench comprising a head having ears, a cooperating girth member to engage a pipe having ears complementary to those of said head, a pintle connecting the ears on said head and girth member having an annular groove located at a distance from the head of the pintle approximately equal to the thickness of an ear upon the head, a spring ring loosely mounted in said groove, an exterior tapered countersink operable to contract said ring within saic groove when the pintle is inserted through said ears and an inner tapered countersink in said ear to receive said ring when it expands after passing through said ear thus preventing withdrawal of said pintle.

5. A pipe wrench comprising a head having a fulcrum thereon, an operating handle mounted in said head, a girth member comprising a rigid section pivoted at one end upon the head, an lntermedlate section pivotally connected thereto and an end section pivotally connected to said intermediate section having at its other end releasable but positive interlocking engagement with said fulcrum, means acting upon said pivoted section intermediate of its ends to positively clamp said girth member about the pipe, and

having means engaging said pivoted girth V section intermediate of its ends'operable to cause the girth member to grip and hold the work positively, whereby the work may be rotated in either direction.

7. In a wrench of the above-described character, a head having a fulcrum thereon, a flexible girth member having one section pivoted on said head andprovided with a spheroidal socket, said flexible girth member having also a hook-shaped toe portion at its free end. adapted to engage a complementary hook-shaped recess in said fulcrum thereby forming a positive lock between the free end of said girth member and said fulcrum, a handle member having a screwthreaded portion to be received by a complementary internally-threaded aperture in said head and having a spheroidal end to engage said socket, said handle being operative when screwed inwardly to cause said girth member to grip and hold the work positively, whereby the work may be rotated in either direction.

. In testimony whereof, I have signed m .name to this specification.

MYLES F. MORAN.- 

